The Colorado Avalanche made a highly controversial move by trading Mikko Rantanen, a superstar winger entering a contract year without an extension in place. While there’s logic in dealing a player who may walk for nothing, the decision carried significant risk—and it’s already backfiring in a big way.
The fallout has been swift and brutal. The trade is being widely criticized, and to make matters worse, former Avalanche forward Nazem Kadri took to X (formerly Twitter) to openly mock the team for parting ways with a player of Rantanen’s caliber. The move not only weakened Colorado’s current roster but also drew backlash from former players, fans, and league observers alike.
Nazem Kadri didn’t hold back, making it clear that the Avalanche had to do whatever it took to keep Mikko Rantanen in Colorado—regardless of contract hurdles. And honestly, it’s hard to argue with him in hindsight. Rantanen was a core piece of the Avs’ success, and his departure has left a glaring void.
The early returns on the trade have been brutal, and it’s clear the organization is already feeling the sting of the decision. With each passing day—and each standout performance from Rantanen elsewhere—the regret only deepens in Denver.
Nazem Kadri says what every Avalanche fan already knew
The Avalanche may have known trading Mikko Rantanen was risky, but they never could have imagined the deal would come back to bite them this quickly—or this painfully.
Colorado initially sent Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes, likely thinking they were safe by moving him to the Eastern Conference, where the only chance of facing him again would be in the Stanley Cup Final. But that plan unraveled fast. When Rantanen declined to sign a long-term extension in Carolina, the Hurricanes flipped him to the Dallas Stars—one of the Avalanche’s fiercest rivals in the Central Division.
What was supposed to be a clean break has turned into a worst-case scenario for Colorado. Not only did they lose one of their franchise players, but he ended up right back in their own division, now suiting up for a team they have to battle regularly in the playoffs.
As if trading Mikko Rantanen wasn’t already a catastrophe, the Avalanche were forced to face the consequences head-on in a brutal first-round showdown against the Dallas Stars. Despite Colorado’s best efforts, Rantanen powered his new team to a series win, highlighted by a legendary Game 7 performance. He torched his former club for five goals and 12 points over the series, leaving little doubt about who had the upper hand.
Adding salt to the wound, Rantanen carried that momentum into the second round. He opened the series with his second straight hat trick and followed it up with a three-point night in Dallas’ Game 3 win over the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Winnipeg Jets, helping the Stars take a 2-1 lead in the series.
Avalanche fans didn’t need Nazem Kadri to tell them how disastrous the trade was—but his comments only reinforced the pain. A key piece of Colorado’s 2022 Stanley Cup run, Kadri was instrumental during that postseason with seven goals and 15 points in 16 games. Since his departure in free agency, the Avs haven’t made it past the second round, and with Rantanen now locked into a long-term deal with a division rival, their path back to championship contention suddenly looks a lot murkier.
The fallout from this trade is already being felt in full—and for Colorado, the question now is how long it will take to recover from a move that may haunt them for years to come.